Of Mallets, Heartbreak, and geeks
by AwesomeFace91
Summary: Misty goes to Kalos, discovers the secret of mega evolution, and hits Ash a lot. Serena gets her heart broken, will it survive the turbulence? Pokeshipping & Geekchicshipping. Rated T because I'm paranoid.
1. Chapter 1

**Hai! New Fanfic! Rejoice! If you haven't read the prologue, you probably should. It's not a necessity, but you might understand things better that way. It's on my account, just click on my name. It's called 'Who's that girl?'. Read it? Good. Prepare yourself! Let's begin! Oh hold on. Disclaimer. I don't own pokemon or its many amazing characters. If I did, Pokeshipping and Geekchicshipping would be canon.**

Misty's POV

Misty wasn't sure whether or not the stain on the airplane seat was wet or not. It looked like grape juice, but its overpowering aroma said apple juice. Misty was quite disgusted. However, this WAS the seat she'd bought, and she'd have to sit on it if she was going to get to Kalos. Misty didn't want to touch it in case it was wet. Misty compromised by perching on the very edge of her seat. It goes without saying that it was an uncomfortable plane ride. Misty was very disgruntled when she got off the plane, but her first breath of Kalos air seemed to change that. It was full of flowers and rainbows and sunlit days and lazy afternoons on the beach and beautiful goodbyes and warm reunions. Misty stood at the top of the steps, just drinking it in. Without having to go into the rich history or the beautiful landscape, Misty understood why Kalos was called the region of love. The air itself inspired scenes from romance novels to unfold in real life. But Misty couldn't stand there breathing forever, she had a stupid-head to locate. She took a step down the ladder. Then another. Her first step on Kalos soil was all she could have hoped for. Misty let out a sigh of happiness. This was exactly what she'd needed without realizing she needed something.

"Hello," She said to the lady behind the information counter. "I'm from Kanto, so I don't know my way around. Is there a map or something?"

"Of course. Here is the Kalos tour map, with restaurant recommendations, Boutique locations, and information on the gyms." Misty grinned.

"Excellent." If she knew Ash, he'd go to the gyms and try to enter the Kalos league. And the one thing she knew for certain about Ash was his love of battles. So she was going to the first gym.

Clemont's POV

Serena was at it again. Flirting with Ash. Clemont kept telling himself he didn't care. But he did. As much as he didn't want to, he cared.

"So Ash, you want to do something together later?"

"Not now Serena. I'm going to give Hawlucha some special training. Maybe Bonnie wants to hang out." Serena pouted. _How thick can you get? _Clemont wondered. It was bleakly obvious that Serena had a crush on Ash. Bleak because that meant she'd never like Clemont. Bonnie was picking berries on a bush next to him. She looked like she was enjoying herself immensely.

"You want one Clemont?" She was so adorable. He couldn't resist the face of his little sister.

"Ah, sure."

"Have a Pecha berry!" She held it up to his face, her eyes peeking out from behind it. Clemont accepted it with a sigh.

"Oooh! Pretty!" Bonnie ran off into the field of flowers to help Serena make a daisy chain. Clemont sat down dejectedly and absentmindedly bit into the pecha berry. It exploded in his mouth. Fireworks. Like his stomach when he looked at Serena.

Ash's POV

"Okay Hawlucha! You haven't battled too many water types, so we're going FISHING!" Ash proclaimed. He grinned. He'd fished many times, but after the fight with Dawn, he learned to only fish with this particular lure when he was alone. Reaching into the inside pocket of his jacket, the one close to his heart, he pulled out the special lure. The Misty lure. Pikachu grinned happily.

"Pika!"

"Hawlucha, this is a very special fishing lure, given to me by a good friend. It always brings me luck, so let's use it for training!" Ash scooped up a stick, and just like Misty taught him, fashioned a rod out of the environment. Grinning, with his two pokemon running at his side, Ash sprinted to the river.

"Ready Hawlucha?" Hawlucha nodded. "GO FISH!" Ash yelled casting his line. He was ready to train. With the Misty lure, it was almost like Misty was there again to help him train. May and Dawn were coordinators, so training with them was never about battling. Iris was a little better for that kind of thing, but she was anything but supportive. Serena… Liked pretty clothes. Bonnie and Max weren't helpful, but he couldn't blame them because they didn't have pokemon. Misty, Brock, Cilan, and Clemont were all reasonably helpful. But nobody pushed him as hard as Misty. He shook himself mentally. The likelihood was that he was never going to see her again. There was no point missing her. She was probably flourishing at the gym anyway. There was no point missing her! No point missing her. No point missing her. He kept repeating it in his head. _And I don't! We're both happy. _But deep inside Ash knew he'd be happier if Misty was traveling with him. He'd give anything to be hit by her mallet one more time. Little did he know that he soon would be.

**Wahhh! It's so short, and very boring! I just wanted to give you guys something.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay. On the day this was published, I went on like, a writing spree. Now, I'm back to being a slow writer. Sorry. I write short chapters… Sorry for OOC characters, I haven't seen many episodes of the X and Y anime. I'm sorry. Thanks for the support this has been getting so far! Okay, so I hope I don't have to put a disclaimer at the beginning of every chapter. I don't like disclaimers because it should be obvious. FAN-Fiction. Oh well. I don't own pokemon.**

**Just quickly, I'll go through ages.**

**Ash-13**

**Misty-14**

**Clemont-13**

**Serena-12**

**Bonnie-8**

Misty's POV

"Turn! around! you're with her now. I just can't figure it out! Tell me why you're so hard to forget, don't remind me, I'm not over it! Tell me why I can't seem to face the truth… I'm just a little too not over you." Misty sang to herself as she strolled leisurely along the path. She was coming up on Shalour city. Ash was so enthusiastic, he'd probably already been at this gym. But Misty wanted to check. Shalour city's magnificence overwhelmed her at once. She had heard many amazing things about all the cities in Kalos, and so far, they had not disappointed. _If all this is true, I can't wait to see Lumiose City. _Misty thought to herself. She stopped off at the pokemon center quickly to give her pokemon a speedy rest, then sprinted to the gym. It was dark when she entered.

"Hello?" Misty called into the darkness.

"Welcome challenger, to the Shalour City gym!"

"Challenger!? No! No! You've got it all wrong! I'm here to ask the gym leader a question!" The sentence sounded weak.

"Well then, you've come to the right place!" A teen with a blond ponytail and skates jumped off a ledge and came skating over to Misty. "I'm Korrina! Master of Mega evolution! What can I do you for?"

"Uh…" _What's mega evolution? _Misty thought nervously. "Two questions. One, what's Mega evolution, and two, has a black-haired kid with a Pikachu passed through here?"

"Well! Those are good questions! What's your name, stranger?"

"I'm Misty, gym leader of Cerulean city, Kanto."

"Cool! So the second question is easy. The first one, not so much. So I'll start with the hard one!" She decided. Misty looked at her. This girl seemed rash, hot-headed, boastful, and good at heart. In other words, she reminded Misty a LOT of Ash.

"Walk with me. I'll talk you through the basics." And the blonde skated out the door. Misty sweatdropped. _Walk? Do you mean skate? Cause I don't have roller skates. _And Misty ran after her.

Serena's POV

The daisy chain she was making with Bonnie was starting to wilt. Serena looked at it sadly.

"It just needs water!" Bonnie said, noticing Serena's expression. She snatched it out of Serena's hands and started running to the stream. Serena laughed and ran after her.

"Bonnie! It doesn't need water, it doesn't have a stem!"

"It'll work!" Bonnie called over her shoulder, arriving at the bank of the stream. When Bonnie floated it in the water, it started to drift away.

"Hey!" Bonnie nearly jumped in after it but Serena held her back. It was suddenly snagged on something Serena couldn't see and tugged it down the stream. Bonnie broke free of Serena's clutches and ran down the bank in the direction it was going. Serena tore through the underbrush after her.

"BONNIE! COME BACK!" Serena yelled, panicking.

"Don't worry Serena, I'll get it!" She called back. They arrived, around the same time, to where Ash was on the bank, reeling it in. He didn't notice them.

"Get ready… Okay… Now! Hawluch- Oh. It's just a daisy chain." _It snagged on Ash's fishing line! That's why it was swept away. _

"Ash!" Bonnie yelled. "That's our daisy chain!"

"Hmm? Oh! It's you two!" Ash said, hiding his rod behind his back. "Well here's your daisy chain it's very nice why don't you keep moving it's a lovely day isn't it Pikachu's iron tail is really useful sometimes I like pie!" Ash babbled on and on.

"Ash… what's behind your back?" Serena asked carefully.

"Nothing! Wh-what makes you think I have something behind my back?"

"Because you're not tall enough to hide a fishing rod. Now, why are you hiding it, it's just a fishing rod, right?" Serena said matter-of-factly.

"Y-Yeah! Just a fishing rod!" Ash said, grinning.

"Then show me." Serena watched him slowly take the rod out from behind his back, his hand on the place where the hook should have been. He snapped his wrist and ripped the rope, keeping what had been on the end of the line in his hand. And then handed her the rod, thrusting his hand into the inside pocket of his jacket. Serena took the rod with equal slowness and held it while looking into his eyes, eyes that were shifting uncomfortably from side to side.

"What's that in your pocket?"

"What do you mean?"

"Aaash!"

"Okay, fine. But I want to tell you two WITH Clemont. So if you bring it up Clemont knows what we're talking about. I'll tell you when we eat dinner tonight." Serena couldn't argue.

Misty's POV

"And that's Mega evolution!" The skater finished with a flourish. Misty was quite out of breath from keeping up.

"Okay. So can all Pokemon mega evolve?"

"Only fully evolved ones as far as we know, and stones have only been discovered for about 48 mega forms."

"Any water types?" Misty asked, panting.

"Of course. Sharpedo… Swampert… Uh… Slowbro… Oh, and Gyarados!" Misty's face lit up.

"Gyarados? I have a Gyarados! I think we have a good bond… If I can find a keystone and a gyaradosite…" Korrina grinned.

"You take care of the mega stone… I have a spare keystone!" Misty felt like she was flying. "All you have to do for it is beat me in a pokemon battle!" Misty smiled and held out her fist in challenge like Ash did.

"Deal!" Before Misty knew it, she was standing in the challenger's square of the gym, Korrina across the field.

"This will be a one-on-one match!" Korrina called. "Use your Gyarados, this is a test to see if you two are truly worthy of mega evolution!" Misty nodded, pulling a pokeball off of her belt.

"Gyarados! I choose you!" Misty yelled, throwing her pokeball on the ground. Gyarados came flying out, roaring, ready to battle

"Go! Lucario!" Korrina called, sending out her pokemon.

"Gyarados! Use flamethrower!" Called Misty, thinking this would work well on the steel-type.

"Bone rush to deflect it!"

"Flamethrower again!"

"Bone rush, once more!" Misty grit her teeth. She wasn't going to win that easily, it seemed.

"Hydro pump!"

"Aura sphere!" Both attacks hit, but both pokemon were still standing. Misty claimed the next attack.

"Hyper beam!" It did a lot of damage, but the Lucario was still standing and Gyarados had to recharge.

"Lucario! Power-up-punch!" Gyarados fell.

"Gyarados! No!" Misty yelled, nearly running onto the battlefield. But she stayed in place. "Gyarados…" Misty closed her eyes. "You can still do this…" Gyarados struggled up. Korrina gazed at it, dumbfounded.

"How did it get up?"

"Gyarados! Flamethrower!" The fiery blast smashed head-on into the unsuspecting Lucario. It toppled, already unsteady from the shock of seeing it's adversary get up. Misty grinned and jumped in the air in celebration.

"Yay! Gyarados!" The Lucario struggled to it's knees, and fell again. Misty had won.

Ash's POV

The food was great. His friends were happy. Pikachu was chasing Dedenne around in circles. He should have been content. But at that point, Ash's brain was whirring with ways to avoid telling them about the lure. He didn't know why he wanted to keep it private, it just seemed… He didn't know how it seemed. All he knew was that Misty, or at least her lure, was his.

"So Ash, is there something you'd like to share with the group?" Serena asked.

"Nothing I WANT to share, but there _is _something I'm being forced to share."

Bonnie leaned forward in her seat. Serena sat a little straighter. Clemont looked confused. "I've travelled with a lot of different people on my journey. I've done a lot of things. But there was one that just…" He trailed off, not knowing what to say. He changed his approach. "When I was traveling in Sinnoh, my traveling companions were a girl named Dawn and a guy named Brock." Serena tensed up at the word 'girl' although Ash didn't know why. "We were fishing one time, and I pulled out my special lure. Dawn wanted to use it, and we had a big fight over it." Ash pulled out the lure. "That's why I never use it when I'm fishing with other people. I'm worried it'll get damaged, and it's the only thing I have of hers." Ash finished, feeling warm for some reason.

"Ash, why are you blushing?" Clemont asked him carefully.

"I'm not blushing." Ash said quickly.

"Right…" Clemont said, unconvinced.

"The only thing you have of whose?" Serena asked in a panicky tone.

"Well- Uh- Mi-Misty's." Ash didn't know why her name was so hard to force out. It was like a bit of his past that he wanted to keep for himself, and yet here he was, spilling everything.

"When I started my journey, I was late to pick up a starter Pokemon. Pikachu was all professor Oak had left, and I took him. Pikachu hated me at first, but when we were attacked by a flock of angry Spearow, I picked him up and dived off a cliff with him, over a waterfall." Ash took a deep breath. He'd never given a full account of the beginning of his journey before this, and it felt like he was violating some unspoken law. But he continued.

"I was swimming through a dark river, holding onto Pikachu tighter than I'd ever held anything before. Suddenly, we were snagged on something, and fished out of the river by a girl with orange hair, a yellow shirt, jean shorts, and red suspenders. I remember exactly how she looked then, because she had just saved my life and she was like a guardian angel. That illusion was broken when she slapped me, and slapped me hard." Serena looked Ash full in the face, and Ash started to feel uncomfortable.

"Uh, yeah. Basically, after that, I stole her bike to save Pikachu's life, I accidentally got it completely destroyed, and with her hot temper and stubborn spirit, she followed me across two regions until I repayed her. She might seem like I would hate her, but she means more to me than… I don't know, all I know is she means a lot to me." Ash finished, putting the lure away in its special pocket. As Ash watched in stunned fascination, Serena burst into tears.


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay. Woot woot! People like this fanfic! I'm happy! Uh, I don't own Pokemon? I've made this point before. But seriously, is there a ship name for Misty and Clemont? I've been wondering about this for, like, ever.**

Serena's POV

_No. No. No. This can't be happening. I thought he and I were a shoo-in. I thought he liked me back. No. No. NO! _Serena's thoughts whirled around in her head like a blender, shredding the last scraps of hope that she had. Tears were streaming down her face and she was making no attempt to hide them.

"Serena?" Clemont asked, holding out a consoling hand to her. Serena swatted it away and leapt to her feet.

"Serena? What's wrong?" Ash asked, looking confused. Serena didn't answer him and ran away, through the trees, thorns attacking her from all sides. But she kept running. She jumped over logs, clambered through small caves, anything to get away from the feelings. Her hat flew off, and her tears followed, stinging her face. All she could do was run. Serena ran without direction, without will or way, without regard for her racing breath and pounding heart. Her sweat mingled with her tears as she went, but it was all the same to her. She tripped over a tree root and went sprawling, but she didn't care that she and all her clothes were covered with mud. Nothing mattered. She lay there, not wanting to get up. Fennekin and Pancham had chased her initially, but her wild flight left them behind. She regretted that now, being in the woods at night. _What does it matter? It's not like anybody cares. _She lay there in the mud, waiting for day to come.

Clemont's POV

At the point where Serena disappeared into the trees and her pokemon came back, dejected, Clemont was seized with fear. If he knew Serena, and he hoped that he did, she wouldn't survive a day in the woods alone without her Pokemon, and especially not after that shock to her heart. She was hopelessly devoted to Ash, and he carries a lure shaped like another girl in a pocket next to his heart. _I know how that feels. _Clemont thought mournfully. _To like a person who feels the same way towards someone else. _He stood up.

"Clemont? Where are you going?" Bonnie asked.

"That should be obvious." He snarled. He picked up Fennekin and Pancham's pokeballs from where Serena had left them, put his Clemontic Gear on the ground, adjusted his glasses, made sure he had all of his pokemon in addition to Serena's, and ran into the forest after her.

Ash's POV

"Clemont!" Ash yelled. "I'll come too, it's not safe to go alone and I care about Serena just as much as you do!" But Bonnie grabbed Ash's leg.

"No. You can't go." she said, looking up into his eyes.

"Why not?"

"Multiple reasons. The first; I don't want to be here alone, and Clemont needs someone to watch his gear. The second; You don't care about Serena as much as Clemont does. I know this because he cares about Serena the same way YOU care about Misty. The third; and this is the most important one;" Bonnie said, pausing for dramatic effect. "I believe this could be a courtship ritual!" She said with an abrupt return to her usual cheery tone. Ash sighed and accepted the fact that, despite her usual reckless abandon about things, she had a point. The only problem was that Clemont couldn't run very fast, and that was a problem. What if she kept running and he chased her forever? He knew he wouldn't continue his journey without them, and if Clemont chased Serena forever, he might never continue his journey.

Misty's POV

The skater handed Misty a glowing orb, small enough to be worn as a ring.

"Thank you so much Korrina! It won't go to waste. I won't use it in usual gym battles, but if someone wants a rematch…"

"You're ready for them." Korrina finished her sentence for her. "Now, your other question, well, the simple answer is yes. A black-haired kid and a Pikachu did pass through here. He was travelling with a girl and boy about his age, and the boy's little sister. The Pikachu kid's name was Ash, and the other's names were Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie respectively." Misty cheered on the inside.

"Do you know where they were going?" she asked excitedly.

"Ramos's gym, in the next town over."

"Great! Can you give me directions?" Misty asked excitedly. Korrina pointed silently. Misty looked out the window Korrina had indicated. If she tilted her head a little, she could see a monorail snaking through some mountains.

"That monorail connects the two parts of the town. Just head towards it, and you can't go wrong. Now, how are you going to hold that key stone of yours?" The blonde asked with a wink. Misty looked at it.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh come on Misty, I thought you were smart." Misty blushed furiously.

"Whadda you mean you THOUGHT?" Misty yelled, yanking out her mallet. Korrina yelled in surprise.

"Where did you even GET THAT FROM?" She asked, terrified. Misty took a deep breath. It took very little to make her flare up recently. She put the mallet away.

"Sorry." Misty said sheepishly.

"Right." Korrina said, thoroughly shaken. "Well, I've got a mega-glove, many trainers choose to wear it in a bracelet, you could get an earring, or a necklace. Or an anklet I suppose, but that might be hard to reach during battle." Misty thought carefully, before having what she considered to be the best idea she'd ever had.

Clemont's POV

Clemont got about 100 feet into the forest before his body remembered that it was out of shape and he had to stop. He leaned against a tree, panting. _You're the worst person for this job. _Clemont chastised himself. _Serena could be hurt. Or worse. _But he shook that idea. She couldn't be-Yeah. She was fine. _She has to be fine. _He stood up and started running again. _I'm coming Serena. No matter where you are, I'm going to find you. You'll be okay._

Serena's POV

Serena woke up to sunlight streaming through the trees and a Pyroar sizing her up.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" She screamed. The Pyroar, a female, ignored that and sniffed her. Serena tried to get to her feet, but a piercing pain in her ankle made her stumble back to the ground. The Pyroar, still calm, placed an enormous paw on her chest. Serena struggled fruitlessly.

"Help! Somebody! Anybody! It's going to EAT MEEEE!" She flashed back to her childhood. Lost in the woods. A Poliwag scared her out of her skin and she fell and hurt her knee. Then… Ash had come. _Now… _she thought miserably. _Now I'm so much older, lost in the woods. A Pyroar is about to devour me. I think I've broken my ankle. And nobody's about to break through the trees and save me. _Serena took a breath, and accepted her fate. There was nothing else she could do. She felt like she should have cried, but she was dried out from last night. She'd given her all to Ash. She started her journey simply to be with him. _That was a very rash and stupid thing to do Serena. _She thought, opening her eyes and gazing into the eyes of the Pyroar.

"Well?" She asked the Pyroar grumpily. "Are you going to eat me? Or are you going to let me reminisce for another few days?" The Pyroar simply stared at Serena. A rustling in the bushes caused both their heads to snap away from each other and stare in the direction of the rustling. Three Litleo burst forth and surrounded Serena.

"Oh, I see. Food tastes better when you share it with family, huh? Well get on with it then."

"Luxio! Swift!" A familiar voice burst from the trees where the Litleo had come from. Serena sobbed in relief as Clemont raced forward into the clearing.

Misty's POV

The road was long. Misty was exhausted. She took a break because she couldn't go any more. A crystal river was the ideal rest stop for the tomboyish mermaid. She threw off her shoes and sat down on a rock jutting over the river. The tips of her toes skating over top of the surface, she scanned the area around her. A fishing rod lay in the grass, the end of the string broken. _Hang on. _she pulled her feet back onto the rock and stood up. She picked up the fishing rod. _No doubt about it. This is my style. _Misty had invented her style of fishing rods, and she was the only one who knew it except…

"Ash!" Misty whispered.


	4. Chapter 4

**Wow! This is getting more love than my other one, and that one's complete and this is only chapter 4. It warms my poor shrivelled blackened heart to know that so many people still ship Pokeshipping despite the many Amourshippers trying to beat us down. I don't own pokemon, if I did, Misty would never have left :P**

Clemont's POV

"Serena…" Clemont said helplessly. "I don't know what I can do for your ankle. I'm no doctor." Serena took a deep breath.

"It's okay Clemont. It's enough that I'm not a Pyroar's dinner." It was evening once more. The glade was deserted except for Clemont and Serena. A thought struck Clemont suddenly.

"Fennekin! Pancham! Come on out!" Clemont said, sending out Serena's Pokemon. He handed their Pokeballs to Serena, and she grinned.

"Fennekin! Pancham!" The Pokemon jumped into her arms instantly. Clemont smiled at the reunion. Serena's eyes were sparkling and her face was alive with excitement. Her smile was genuine and for a second, she was a different person. The kind of person he had always known was underneath the layer of girly clothes and silly childhood crushes. The real Serena. The girl who cared for her friends and could run for hours if there was something she needed to get away from. The girl who shone with inner beauty. The girl who could do just about anything. The girl Clemont felt about in a way that he promised himself he would never put in words. Fennekin nuzzled up to Serena, yipping excitedly. Pancham smiled and pat Serena's arm. Clemont suddenly thought of something that gave him hope.

Misty's POV

_Okay Misty. Breathe. Think. What are the odds you'd run into him so quickly? Tiny, that's sure. How am I going to approach him? Sneak attack with mallet? Ooh, I like that. Or maybe wait for the conversation to hit on something that relates to me and pop out saying; "Funny you should say that." and hit the stupid-head? _She had been sitting on that same bank for fifteen minutes, and she was still freaking out. _Breathe. Thinking things out is not like you. By now, he could be even farther away!_ Misty stood up. She reached into her bag and pulled out a cloak. She draped it over herself and pulled the hood up.

"I'm ready." she whispered, "To smack him into the ground."

Ash's POV

Serena and Clemont had been gone for more than a day. Ash didn't dare move on without them, but his call to battle the next gym was becoming overwhelming.

"I can't do it!" He suddenly burst out. Bonnie, Dedenne, and Pikachu all looked at him.

"Can't do what, Ash?" Bonnie asked uncertainly.

"Go on like this! I haven't battled anything or anyone since I got here!" Pikachu ran up his back and hugged his head from his shoulder. Bonnie squeaked in fear.

"M-m-maybe y-you sh-should ask THEM!" Bonnie yelled, running inside the tent. Ash turned slowly. Standing in the woods behind him was a figure in a dark cloak. But that wasn't what scared him. What scared him was the Gyarados towering behind them.

"You said you wanted to battle someone?" The figure said slowly. Ash started trembling.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't want to-"

"I've waited a long time for this, Ketchum. You accept, or… Well…" Ash nodded mutely.

"Okay. I've always wanted to battle a Gyarados anyway. How do you know my name?" He said bravely. Bonnie poked her head out of the tent. The stranger ignored the question.

"I will use only Gyarados, you may use up to three Pokemon." The cloaked stranger said, in that slow voice that sent shivers down Ash's spine. He could have sworn he'd heard it somewhere before.

"Confident, aren't you. So are we!" Ash yelled, holding out Pikachu. "I'll only use Pikachu here." Pikachu nodded and lept onto the battlefield.

"Gyarados!" The stranger yelled. Ash noticed a shift in Pikachu immediately. When Gyarados came thundering out from behind the stranger to battle, Pikachu froze. Then he turned his yellow head away in a snub.

"Pikachu, what's wrong?"

"Pikachupikpikchuchaaaaai" Pikachu said frantically.

"As I thought. You haven't changed a bit, Pikachu. I knew you would never battle _my_ pokemon. Gyarados, return."

"Hey! I thought we were battling!" Ash yelled.

"Nah. I've got some other business to attend to." The cloaked figure was suddenly right next to him. The next thing he knew, he had a splitting pain in his head and it all went black.

Bonnie's POV

Bonnie screamed.

"Get away from him!" And she threw herself at the cloaked figure, teeth bared. But she was stopped by a tackle from Pikachu, throwing her to the ground.

"Are you CRAZY?! THEIR GOING TO BEAT HIM BLOODY AND KIDNAP HIM AND ASK FOR A RANSOM WE CAN'T PAY AND WHEN WE CAN'T PAY IT THEY'LL KILL HIM!" Pikachu shook his head frantically, but the stranger just laughed.

"You really think I'd do that-" the stranger began, their voice faster and higher, probably their real voice. "To my best friend?" she finished, ripping off the cloak. Bonnie gasped. A girl about Ash's age, with orange hair in a side ponytail, wearing a yellow hoodie with tank-top sleeves and jean shorts.

"Y-You're Misty! Ash told us about you!" Misty looked taken aback.

"He mentioned me?"

"Of course! Serena pried it out of him, but that's not important." Bonnie knew what she had to do. She looked Misty up and down. "Well, you have a gyarados, so you must be a strong trainer. You're attractive enough, and Ash truly does care about you. Hmmm. Alright. You'll make a fine one."

"A fine what, exactly?"

"A fine bride! Will you marry Ash?" Bonnie exclaimed, getting down on one knee. Misty looked at Bonnie for a full minute. Bonnie started to worry that Misty was going to hit her. But then Misty surprised her. She doubled over in laughter, hands on her knees, unable to talk from her hysterics. Bonnie looked at the girl unable to stop laughing. This was a response so far unseen by Bonnie. The blond girl, confused, started to twiddle with her ponytail nervously.

"So… Is that a yes?" Misty's giggles subsided with a hiccup.

"No. Hasn't anyone ever told you it's not legal to be married until you're far older than I am?" Bonnie felt her eyes widen.

"Not legal?" Misty nodded.

"Korrina said your name is Bonnie?" Bonnie nodded, still trying to comprehend this new piece of information. "Well Bonnie, love the ponytail." Misty said kindly. Bonnie's eyes flitted from her ponytail to Misty's.

"We… We… We are the QUEENS of side ponytails!" Bonnie exclaimed, leaping into the air. All marriage laws forgotten, Bonnie ran over to Ash and shook him awake.

"Ash! Ash! Ash!" Ash sat up, rubbing his head.

"What happened?" He moaned.

"Well, the cloaked figure knocked you out with a mallet and I tried to attack them but Pikachu stopped me and the stranger revealed that she's Misty y'know the one from your lure and I asked her to marry you but she laughed and laughed and I was creeped out and she told me something about a marriage law I don't really care and then I realized that we both have ponytails on the sides of our heads and now we are the QUEENS of side ponytails." Bonnie said, rapidfire. Bonnie watched anxiously as Ash looked at Misty's shoes, and slowly, oh so very slowly looked up into her face.

"Long time no see Ash." Misty scowled.

Serena's POV

Serena's ankle was killing her. Serena's heart was already dead. Serena's clothes were a mess. Serena's hat had come off in the sprint and they couldn't find it. Serena's hair was hopelessly tangled. Serena's spirits were at an all time low. She knew Clemont was trying his hardest. She really did. But it just wasn't easy. The blond busied himself almost every second, cooking food with what little he could find, building something he said would help her ankle out of material in the forest. Serena closed her eyes, trying to block out the events of the last two days.

"Done!" Clemont said, bringing her out of her reverie.

"Done with what?" she asked sleepily.

"I call it; The-get-Serena-out-of-the-forest-without-causing-any-more-damage-to-her-ankle-o-matic!" Clemont exclaimed. Serena winced at the name.

"Okay, what does it do, and how do you know it won't explode?" Serena asked, sitting up and giving him her full attention.

**Okay. Whooooo. That was exhausting. I wrote all that in like, a day. Hey, peeps. Could you check out my new fanfic? Pretty please? It's called Broken Stems. It's depressing, and really weird.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hai. I'm back. Yaey. I don't own Pokemon. Sorry for the late update. I've got a lot of other things I'm working on. **

**Hey, so, apparently I made an error in the last chapter. Kindly disregard the fact that 10 is legal age in the Pokemon world, I can't get **_**everything**_ **right. So technically, Ash and Misty **_**could **_**get married, but I don't think either of them wants to.**

Ash's POV

Misty here? Misty, standing in front of him? Ash's head was spinning. She was scowling, staring down at him. Ash scrambled to his feet.

"Misty! We were just talking about you the other night! What a weird coincidence! How are you? How's the gym?" Ash was rapidly spewing nonsense. He felt the back of his neck getting wet and warm, but had no idea why he was sweating.

"Yes, it's me. Were you really? Yes it is a peculiar coincidence. I am well. The gym is just like it always was." Ash noticed Misty's tone. It was icy. It threatened death.

"Are you okay Misty? What are you even doing here?"  
>"I'm here to rectify something." She said uncertainly. "So Ash. About this 'Serena' girl." This was the last thing Ash expected.<p>

"What?" He asked, confused.

"How do you feel about her?"

"She's a really good friend who matters to me as much as my other friends." Ash said uncertainly. Why did Misty care about that?

Clemont's POV

"It does exactly what the name says. And I don't know that it won't explode, but I took extra care with this one," Clemont smiled at the girl looking skeptically at his invention. "And for my next trick!" Clemont said, holding out a hand-made bowl with a flourish. "A cast!" He sat down next to her and carefully, slowly, pulled her leg into his lap. She winced, but didn't scream. Clemont carefully dipped a leaf into the mixture and laid it on Serena's leg. He dipped another and gently placed it on her leg, overlapping with the other one. As he worked, he began to talk to her.

"When I was very young, just starting to get into the idea of inventing things, I messed up. A lot. One or two times, I actually broke a bone. And seeing as we had just spent about half of our money on inventing supplies for me, we couldn't make it to the hospital. My dad made this from an old family recipe," he worked as quickly as he could. His hands, so nimble when working with wires and gears, fumbled over leaves slavered in thick paste. It took an hour to finish and an hour to dry, but by the end, Serena was wearing what could be considered a reasonable cast. Good thing too, because Clemont was getting hungry, and he could hear Serena's hunger, coming out in the sound of a certain attack-lowering move.

"It's about time we head back," he said, wheeling his invention forward.

"I'm quite happy here!" Serena burst out. Then she took a deep breath. "I mean… Yes, I'm starving. Yes, I'm a muddy mess. Yes, I'm lost. Yes I'm injured. But you can protect me, you've proven that before. And… I don't think I'm ready to face what's waiting for me back there," she said quietly. So Clemont knelt beside her.

"Serena. I know it's painful back there. I know you don't want to face it. But we can't stay here forever. You know we can't. You're smart enough to have figured that out," Clemont said, echoing how soft her voice was. Serena blushed at the mention of her intelligence.

"No, I'm not smart enough. If I was smart, I would have realized that Ash…" Clemont gripped her arm and started speaking with a sudden intensity.

"None of us knew about this Misty girl. None of us except Ash. Bonnie and I have pretty much always known you like Ash. And I guess I kinda assumed that he liked you back..." he trailed off, lost for words. Serena took a deep breath.

"Help me up," she said shortly. Clemont got to his feet and held out a hand.

Serena's POV

Clemont smiled down at Serena, his hand outstretched in welcome. A flash of deja vu hit her suddenly. A long time ago. She was six and scared. Ash had smiled at her in that special way. Clemont was smiling now too, but it wasn't the way Ash smiled. Ash's was cheeky, ready for adventure, but friendly too. Clemont's made her feel something. Something she couldn't identify. It suggested smiles and hugs, blankets and hot cocoa. It suggested security and… What? Serena couldn't tell, but it made her heart explode with a thousand shining fireworks. She took it, his hand warm against hers. He pulled her up. Serena half-expected to fall into a hug like she had with Ash. _Ash… What are you doing now? Searching for us? Moved on? Forgotten completely? _No. No, Ash wouldn't do that. He wasn't that type. She gingerly placed her broken leg on the forest floor. She yelped and her foot jumped into the air.

"Don't put weight on it!" Clemont exclaimed, catching her underneath the elbow. She put a hand on his shoulder and steadied herself.

"I'm good. What does the machine do?" Clemont's eyes glinted when Serena asked.

"You rest here, on this comfortably padded seat, and these vehicular transportation spheres move you along!" He exclaimed excitedly. Serena got a good look at it. It was mainly crafted of sticks and the paste used to make her cast.

"So it's a wheelchair?" Serena said slyly. Clemont pouted.

"Well yes, but-" Serena cut him off by placing a finger on his lips.

"Thank you. It's very well put together," she said with a cheeky grin. "Does it move like a wheelchair? I mean, do you push it?" Clemont rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed.

"I had limeted options here in the woods, so yeah. That's what this handle's for." Before Serena knew what she was doing, she leaned in and gave the blond a hug.

"Thank you Clemont. For everything. Just… Stay close to me," and using him for support, Serena clambered up into the seat. Fenniken and Pancham sprinted into the woods, and Clemont started pushing Serena after them.

Misty's POV

Misty breathed a sigh of relief. _A friend. She's just a friend. _

"So Serena's just a friend?"

"Yeah! All my friends are my, uh, friends," Ash stuttered. It was like a slap in the face. _ALL my friends are just my friends. All. All. All. _Friendzoned. She'd come all the way out here for a friendzone. Well what had she expected? Ash always was stupid, and he probably didn't even know what a crush was. Ash seemed to be coming to his senses.

"What brings you to Kalos, Misty?" _Uh oh. Caught. _

"Uh… Well... Mega evolution!" She exclaimed nervously. "I just got a keystone!"

"WOW! Can I see?!"

"No. Not until I get a mega stone for Gyarados." Ash deflated.

"But mega evolution is so cool! Come on Mist, let me see, it can't hurt! I won't believe you if you don't show me!"

"Then I guess you don't believe me. And don't call me 'Mist', alright?" She snapped. "I should be moving on Ash. Lovely to see you again." And she turned on the spot and flounced away. She actually made it out of the clearing before the tears started rushing down her face.

Ash's POV

The first thought in Ash's mind was; _Was it something i said? _The second one was; _You idiot Ash. Haven't you missed her every step of the journey? How could you let her leave again? You messed up. Big time. _And of course, the thoughts weren't wrong. They were painfully accurate.

"Misty," he murmured under his breath. "Why did I let you go?"

"Chupi." Pikachu groaned, scampering up Ash's back and patting him gently on the shoulder. Ash slumped on the ground and buried his face in his hands. He didn't notice Bonnie tiptoing from the clearing. He also didn't notice Fennekin and Pancham break through the trees, although that was some time later.

**I really wanted to get this up, so I cut it short. More on the way, I promise, it's just difficult because I'm juggling so many other things.**


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